Hello, Oregon!

I have changed the name of our blog for the time being to “from Bamako to Bogota”. We have officially entered our time of transition from Mali to Colombia- and although it came much sooner than we had anticipated, we are grateful for the extra time. Slowly, slowly we are adjusting to our new routine.I realize that some of my past posts were jumbled thoughts, and considering the situations we were dealing with, it makes sense. Just so everyone is on the same page here is what the past month has looked like:

March 22– Military leaders took over Mali’s government in a coup. Curfews were established and the political scene was extremely volatile. We heard gun shots for the first 2 days, then gradually things became more “normal”. School closed this day.

March 30– The missionary community decided that it was not safe to remain in Bamako and most people started making plans to leave the country- either to home countries or neighboring. We decided to head to a neighboring country in case the school was able to re-open.

April 1– Ed and I and two other missionaries left by truck to the neighboring country to escape possible border closures. During this time Tuareg leaders in the north led several attacks to secure the last of the northern territory.

April 8– Ed and I flew to Paris where we sight saw for a few days.

April 11– We took a train to southern Germany to stay with TeachBeyond member care and rest, debrief and unwind.

April 24– We flew back into Oregon and will be here (more or less) until the end of July when we move to Colombia.

So, what’s Mali like now? Since our departure it has been up and down. A transitional government was established and coup leaders seemed willing to cooperate. Yesterday however, the violence arose and many anti-coup attacks took place. The airport has been closed again for a week. There have been gun shots heard around the city and it seems even more violent than when the coup first took place. I can whole-heartedly sigh “I am glad we left!”.

It is hard though. I mourn for the country that was once stable. I pray for the people still in country and the fear and anxiety situations like this can have. And I rejoice that through all of this God is still in control, let his people be strong and worship him!